Golden November

While being abroad is very rewarding and enriching, it can honestly be a living hell when trying to deal with red tape and bureaucracy.  October was full of back and forth paperwork between Germany and the US and I honestly think I might have given myself an ulcer from all the stress that went along side it.

Usually I like to sing praises on behalf of Germany, but this time there's nothing good to be said about the customer service for the company FedEx in Germany.  So readers, if you ever need to ship something express across the ocean and if you happen to live in Nuremberg, avoid FedEx at all costs. They are a nightmare with a capital N.

Perhaps it was just a lot of Pech, but I've never encountered an employee so apathetic and so rude before in my life.  He made a mistake by processing a procedure incorrectly therefore holding up my package in the US and not allowing it to be returned to me.  He then refused to do anything about it and left me to sort through the mess, resulting in three hours of phone calls on Friday and an additional hour and half on Monday with representatives in the US and Germany.  And for some crazy reason, in Germany, they seem to think it's okay that in addition to having to deal with problems their company created, I should also pay .17 cents per minute to speak to someone on the phone.  I did finally receive the package on Wednesday (a week after it was sent from the sender in the US), but was told by the same very unhelpful employee that I would not get my money back and that "it was unfair" what I was doing--trying to 'cheat', as he put it. Seriously?

Despite all that, Germany really is quite beautiful right now.  The leaves are golden yellow everywhere and the weather is cool enough for jackets and scarves but not so cold that you want to hide away in doors.

So wishing you all a beautiful November, free of red-tape and full of happier, more beautiful things.

X
diana

Beautiful skies, golden fields and construction--a common sight for November in Deutschland.